Abstraction is the counting and quantity principle referring to the understanding that we can count any collection of objects, whether tangible or not.
For example, the quantity of five large items is the same count as a quantity of five small items or a mixed group of five small and large things.
Another example may include a student being able to count linking cubes that represent some other set of objects like cars, dogs, or bikes.
For a full summary of all counting principles, read the original blog post.
[…] See this animation in video format here. […]
[…] counting and quantity, students are wrestling with some pretty complex ideas including subitizing, abstraction, and unitizing which quickly develops into addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. […]
[…] that represent some other set of objects like cars, dogs, or bikes. See this animation in video format here. Children often consider groups of larger items to have more value than groups of smaller […]